No. For most packages, we only require a per-person deposit to hold your booking. (The amount varies by package.) This deposit will be applied towards the cost of your package.
Your balance is due later. The due date will be shown when you book. For most packages, the due date is 75 days prior to departure. If you are booking close to the departure date (usually one that departs in less than 75 days), your final payment may be due within 72 hours.
No. For most packages, we only require a per-person deposit to hold your booking. (The amount varies by package.) This deposit will be applied towards the cost of your package.
Your balance is due later. The due date will be shown when you book. For most packages, the due date is 75 days prior to departure. If you are booking close to the departure date (usually one that departs in less than 75 days), your final payment may be due within 72 hours.
In order to offer you our tours & packages at such fantastic prices, we make financial commitments to suppliers far in advance of each departure date. These commitments are covered by your deposits and cannot be refunded should you cancel your reservation. We recommend that you purchase our affordable travel protection plan to protect your deposit in case you need to cancel or change your plans.
We recommend the purchase of travel protection to all of our customers to help protect you and your travel investment against the unexpected. For your convenience, we offer two travel protection plans at competitive prices that you can purchase with your reservation. Our basic plan can be purchased at any time prior to making your final payment. Please review our travel protection plans for more information and plan documents.
Our packages include accommodations, and like most hotels and cruises, our prices are based on double occupancy rooms. We welcome solo travelers too, of course, and many of our travelers come solo! We charge solo travelers an extra fee (sometimes called a single supplement) to cover the extra costs of single occupancy hotel rooms or cabins. (Consider: if you booked a $200/night hotel room solo, you would pay the $200 yourself; but if a couple booked the same room, each one would pay only $100.) But you only pay extra for the rooms or cabins, nothing else, including meals, sightseeing, tips, etc.
To avoid single supplements, consider sharing a room with another solo traveler via our Roommate Finder.
We don't pair up solo travelers, but we have created a way for you to connect with other travelers to share a room. Check out our Roommate Finder for details and how to get started!
We accept personal checks, money orders, credit cards (VISA, MasterCard, Discover & American Express), and payments from your PayPal account.
To pay your deposit: the easiest, fastest and safest way is with your credit card or PayPal account using our secure online booking system. You may also call or fax us to make your payment by credit card, or you can mail in your deposit by check or credit card, but we cannot hold your place until we receive this payment.
To make your final payment: we encourage you to mail a check or money order for the amount due on your invoice. To pay with your credit card or PayPal account, you may use our secure payment form. Or you can mail or fax in your credit card payment. Final payments cannot be accepted over the phone.
Sure, though for the safety and security of our travelers, we do have some age restrictions. On most of our tours & packages, your traveling companions must be 8 or older at the time of travel. Some packages have different requirements; see the package page. Travelers under 18 years must be accompanied by an adult 21 years or older.
Most of our packages average about 24 passengers, although groups might be larger or smaller, depending on the package, departure date, and circumstances. We do our best to keep our group sizes small enough to ensure you have the opportunity to meet new friends and to enjoy the camaraderie of others, but not so large as to feel lost in the crowd.
On our Small Group Tours, Value Vacations, Biblical Journeys, and private group tours, you will be accompanied by a professional tour manager, guide and/or driver. This person is an authority on the destination, and is responsible for your safety and wellbeing and the smooth operation of your tour. We believe a great tour manager is the difference between simply seeing a country, and truly experiencing it. We're very proud of our tour managers, guides and drivers—we think you'll agree they're the ones who put the "friendly" in Friendly Planet!
Most of our packages do include flights from select U.S. cities in the price. In many cases, our exclusive contracts offer big savings over what you could book on your own. But we understand that some travelers prefer to book their own flights with miles, or to make their own arrangements. If you'd like to go this route, first check out the package you're interested in to see if a "land only" or "tour only" option is offered.
If you do book your own flights, airport transfers are generally not included (though private transfers are usually available for an additional fee—contact us for price and availability). In that case, you'll be responsible for making your own way to the tour starting point, usually the first hotel listed in the itinerary.
We generally discourage travelers from trying to join a tour after it has begun, or to depart before it's finished. But if you need to, please contact us prior to booking and we'll see what we can do to accommodate. Note that you will generally be responsible for your own arrangements and travel costs from the moment you decide to leave the tour.
For our packages that include flights, we do not usually assign seats. In most cases, you can request specific seats, but this may incur a small fee, payable to the airline. For more information, see Advance Seat Reservations.
You may be able to earn frequent flyer points on some of our packages. Once you receive your tickets, contact the airline directly to enter your frequent flyer numbers in your flight record. As you travel, check with the agent prior to boarding each flight on your package to be sure the frequent flyer information has been entered properly. Keep your boarding passes and passenger receipt, as these documents are proof that you have actually flown the miles you are asking to be credited to your frequent flyer account.
Our packages include very special contracted airfares which do not permit upgrading with frequent flyer miles. However, most packages provide special negotiated business class upgrade rates for Transatlantic and Transpacific flights. If you are interested in upgrading to business class, please contact us.
For most of our packages, one checked suitcase per passenger is permitted, usually limited to 44 pounds, and carry-on luggage is limited to one piece per person, which must fit in overhead bins or under seat. Airlines used on some packages have more stringent baggage allowance restrictions, which you can find on our Baggage Allowances page. Guidelines for your specific package will be sent with your confirmation materials.
Check out our blog post on our Top 10 Must-Haves for International Travel.
Of course! As seasoned travelers ourselves, we're happy to share whatever knowledge we can to make your trip wonderful. As a start, you should review our Fast Facts for the countries you're visiting, where you'll find a compendium of facts, advice and links for travelers. If you don't find the answers you need there, feel free to contact us with your questions.